As we continue to cruise through summer, many cities across Florida have also seen some of the hottest weeks on record so far. We also continue to have a significant rainfall deficit across most of Florida, not only for the summer months—which are Florida’s rainy season—but also since the beginning of the year.
Let’s talk about the heat first. Temperatures across Florida have been scorching. Looking at the big picture across the state, temperatures have remained between 1°F and 2°F above average along the I-10 corridor so far this summer, except in parts of Jacksonville, where temperatures have been around 5°F above average from the start of summer through August 21. Gainesville’s summer temperature to date has been 2°F above average, and so far, the city is experiencing its sixth-warmest summer on record. Around the I-4 corridor, temperatures are between 1°F and 3°F above average so far this summer. While Orlando is experiencing its second-warmest summer to date based on a 131-year record at this location, the Tampa Bay area ranks 17th warmest based on a 137-year record. Between Tampa and Orlando, Lakeland has the highest departure from average, at 3°F above the average value of 94.6°F so far this summer. The West Palm Beach area is also experiencing a very hot summer, with temperatures around 3°F above average and an average temperature of around 92°F.
Farther south, across Fort Lauderdale and Miami, the heat is also setting records so far this summer. Across Fort Lauderdale, the average summer temperature to date is 91.4°F, about 2°F above average. It is the fourth-warmest summer so far for the Fort Lauderdale area. Across the Miami area, the second-warmest summer on record has been about 2°F above average so far. Southwest Florida also remains around 2°F above average, with an average temperature of about 93°F, and is currently experiencing its ninth-warmest summer to date. And if you’ve been outside this summer, you have definitely felt the heat—not only the temperature, but also the persistent humidity. Humidity has prompted several heat advisories so far this year. 2024 was a memorable year across South Florida. Miami-Dade and Broward counties experienced the most consecutive days under heat advisories, with 54 and 56 heat advisories issued that year. So far this year, 37 heat advisories have been issued for the Miami-Dade and Broward metro areas; 24 have been issued across Southwest Florida; and 15 have been issued in the Fort Myers area.
The main difference between the numerous heat advisories in South Florida in 2024 and those in 2026 is that this year, local National Weather Service offices across Central and North Florida have issued more heat advisories. For Orange, Seminole and Volusia counties, as well as the northern half of Brevard County, 20 heat advisories have been issued so far in 2026. This compares with around 10 issued in 2024. Across North Florida, from Jacksonville to the Gainesville area, between 21 and 22 heat advisories have been issued so far this season. Moving westward along the corridor, Tallahassee has been under a heat advisory 20 times so far this year, while in 2024, 23 heat advisories were in effect. Keep in mind that we still have some hot weeks ahead, and more heat advisories and extreme heat warnings could be issued.
Speaking of extreme heat warnings, Central and Southwest Florida, including parts of the Treasure Coast, have not had any extreme heat warnings issued so far this year. The highest number of extreme heat warnings has been mainly confined to Gulf, Franklin, Liberty, Bay and Calhoun counties in the Florida Panhandle. Leon County has been placed under an extreme heat warning four times so far in 2026, and much of North Florida has been placed under this warning twice. Meanwhile, areas just north of Lake County in Central Florida have received one extreme heat warning, as have Broward and Miami-Dade counties in South Florida. An extreme heat warning is a high-level alert indicating that extremely dangerous and potentially deadly heat conditions will occur within the next 12 to 24 hours. For many areas, heat indices are expected to reach at least 105°F for several hours during the day, while overnight temperatures are unlikely to offer much relief. Although we do not yet have official numbers on heat-related deaths this summer—the state health department and medical examiners typically take several months to finalize and release comprehensive annual mortality data—there have been several reports of children being left in hot cars across Florida this summer.
Not much relief from the heat due to the lack of rain.
The drought remains a major topic across Florida. The latest Drought Monitor shows several categories worsening, especially the extreme drought category, which grew by slightly more than a quarter of a percentage point. This might seem insignificant, but the drought hasn't really left us since summer arrived. Remember, summer is Florida’s rainy season. Still having extreme drought show up on the Florida map could start sounding alarm bells across the state. But not so fast. We still have more than a week left in August, the entire month of September, and almost the entire month of October to receive beneficial rainfall across the state.
Remember, what could alleviate the drought is several days of consistent light to moderate rain rather than a high-impact rain event of short duration. At this point, with the ground dry across much of Florida, a heavy rain event could trigger flash flooding more quickly. Although some parts of Florida have received a little more moisture this past week, and atmospheric conditions have become more favorable for thunderstorm formation—especially across South Florida, and with Saharan dust having moved away—we are still experiencing a significant rainfall deficit across the state. Across North Florida, the rainfall deficit continues to range between 1.5 and 3.25 inches. The only area with a rainfall surplus between June 1 and August 20 is the Pensacola area, where rainfall is running around 1.5 inches above average. Gainesville is also at a slight rainfall surplus of 0.69 inches.
Central Florida remains very dry. Although the Daytona Beach area is around half an inch below average this summer, areas such as Orlando and Ocala are between 6 and 9 inches below average for the season so far. Currently, Orlando is experiencing its fifth-driest summer season on record. The Tampa Bay area has improved significantly in recent weeks. At the beginning of the summer, the area was running more than 12 inches below average, but right now, the rainfall deficit stands at around 4 inches. The Vero Beach/Fort Pierce area is the only area across the southern half of Florida, excluding the Keys, experiencing a rainfall surplus. Across Southwest Florida, between Fort Myers and Naples, rainfall deficits range between 7 and 8 inches. Naples is having its fourth-driest summer so far.
Southeast Florida is currently experiencing the largest rainfall deficit in the state. Fort Lauderdale is close to 14 inches below average, while Miami is slightly more than 14 inches below average this season. Both areas are experiencing their driest summer seasons on record. For reference, Fort Lauderdale has recorded 5.94 inches of rain so far this season, while average rainfall by this point is close to 20 inches. The Florida Keys show stark differences. Although there is no official data for the Upper Keys, the Middle Keys, including Marathon, are experiencing their fifth-driest summer season on record, with rainfall almost 9 inches below average so far. Meanwhile, Key West has received 11.26 inches of rain, putting it about a quarter of an inch above average so far this season. As mentioned, let’s keep hoping for a prolonged period of moderate showers to help ease the drought and support vegetation and crops across the state. More cloud cover and passing showers could also help reduce temperatures and bring Florida’s persistent heat closer to the seasonal averages we’re used to.